


Restoring the Shield

by Politzania



Series: The Shield Saga [6]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha!Steve, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Canon Divergence - Captain America: The Winter Soldier, M/M, Multi, Recovering!Bucky, omega!Tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:55:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28430499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Politzania/pseuds/Politzania
Summary: The man who was once the Winter Soldier (and before that, Bucky Barnes) is brought before the Avengers to face justice... just not the kind he had expected.Bucky Barnes Bingo- AU: A/B/O &  Steve/Tony/Bucky Bingo - Star Spangled Man with a Plan
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: The Shield Saga [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/956706
Comments: 9
Kudos: 41
Collections: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Restoring the Shield - Chapter 1  
> Collaborator(s): PoliZ  
> BBB Square Filled: U5 - AU: A/B/O  
> Ship/Main Pairing: Stony, past Stucky, endgame Stuckony  
> Rating: Mature (may go Explicit)  
> Major Tags/Triggers/Warnings: a/b/o dynamics, semi-canon compliant, recovering!Bucky  
> Summary: The man who was once the Winter Soldier (and before that, Bucky Barnes) is brought before the Avengers to face justice... just not the kind he had expected.  
> Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/28430499  
> Word Count: 1092

He shouldn’t be here. Not in this building, not in this city, not even in this century. Nevertheless, he found himself in a conference room in Avengers Tower — shackled and wearing a shock collar — sitting across from Captain America and the Falcon, while Iron Man and War Machine stood guard in full armor, with only their faceplates retracted. 

Rhodes and Stark had been the ones to track him down after the fall of Hydra; he had expected either a summary execution or to be delivered to the authorities, not to once again be placed face to face with the man who had first been his friend, then his lover and bond mate, and finally his target. 

“Do you know me?” The Captain held himself stiffly, most likely still recovering from the injuries the Soldier had inflicted. After all, his own shoulder was still only partly recovered from the dislocation, and his other wounds (some of which were self-inflicted) were all still healing. 

“You’re Steve. I read about you in a museum.” It wasn’t a lie; he’d spent hours at the Smithsonian, examining each artifact and poring over the placards, hoping to find something that would help him assemble the jagged pieces of his memories. He’d stared at an image of his own face, larger than life and displayed under the heading ‘A Fallen Comrade’. It was all too apt; he had fallen further than anyone could ever know and didn’t know if he had the strength to pull himself back out. 

“What else?” 

“You were my mission.” He didn’t dare say more; not with these strangers around. 

“That’s past tense, right?” Wilson commented, his voice hard. 

He nodded as Steve shot his newest teammate a sharp look. “Cut it out, Sam.” 

“What? Dude tried to kill you and me both just a few weeks ago!” 

“I don’t do that anymore.” He’d promised himself he would never be the Fist of Hydra again; he’d rather die first. 

“You‘ll forgive us if we have a little trouble taking your word for it.” This time it was Stark who had spoken. As Steve glared at the man in the armor, the scent of new mown grass floated through the space between them. He knew that scent, as surely as he knew Steve’s eyes held small flecks of green among all that blue. But of course Steve wasn’t his alpha anymore; Hydra had corrupted him too deeply to claim any piece of the bond that had once existed between them. 

“Steve, I … I’m sorry.” As if simple words could erase all the damage that had been done -- both by and to him -- over the decades. “I’m no good anymore. You should turn me in.” 

“The hell I will, Buck,” Steve growled in reply as his scent grew stronger and more attractive. It didn’t make sense; after how Hydra had changed him, he should be repelled by another alpha’s scent. Or not be able to detect it at all. “In fact,” Steve continued. “I think you all need to leave. Now.” 

Wilson was the first to respond, shrugging and getting to his feet. “It’s your funeral, man.” He left the room without another word. 

“What’s the call, Tones?” The deep rumble of Rhodes’ question was accompanied by a whiff of spices; he was apparently an alpha as well, but his scent held no appeal. 

“You can head out, platypus. Wouldn’t want you tagged for going AWOL. I’ll stick around a little while longer.” As War Machine stalked out of the room, the Iron Man armor disassembled itself from around its owner and neatly reformed itself in the corner, except for one gauntlet which remained in place on Stark’s right arm. 

“Tony, I can handle this.” 

Steve's words of warning held a note of concern.

“Of course you can, Cap,” Stark answered with a wry grin. “I just want to get a good look at that arm.” He couldn’t hide the flinch as Stark reached out toward him, feeling foolish a moment later as the man simply punched a code into the shackles on his left wrist and bicep, releasing them. 

“I thought you and Rhodes already examined it,” Steve said tightly; he’d seen the flinch as well. 

“That was a preliminary full-body scan, just to make sure your brainwashed buddy wasn’t carrying any booby traps or tracking devices. Good news - he beat us to them.” Stark looked him right in the eyes. “I’m impressed you got them all.” 

Strangely, Stark’s statement pushed him into a bit of bravado. “All it took was a mirror and some patience.” 

“And a high tolerance for pain, I imagine.” Stark’s lips quirked as his hand absently rubbed at his chest. He supposed the man knew something about being operated on and modified against his will. “But there were a couple you dug out of this as well, right?” Stark casually rapped on his arm. “I’d like to double-check for any damage or misaligned wiring as a result of your self-inflicted extractions. Is that okay?” 

He’d never been asked permission before. The techs would simply order him to sit down and dive in with their instruments; any attempt at disobeying would result in punishment, He wondered for a moment what would happen if he said ‘no. But Stark was right — he could feel something was awry in the circuitry of his arm. “Yeah, you can take a look.” 

“Okay - let me get my toolkit out.” A panel slid open in the gauntlet to reveal a set of probes and other tools. In turn, he moved the arm into maintenance position. 

Steve stood and came around the table as Stark pulled up a chair. His posture was vigilant, and protective as he watched them both closely. 

“JARVIS, bring up those scans again,” Stark called out. “I need to figure out where the access ports are.” A glowing screen appeared before them with a wireframe image of the arm, rotated and flexed to match the position he currently held it in. 

“I can show you, if you free my other arm,” he offered. Stark raised an eyebrow, but reached over to tap the buttons. 

When the cuffs clicked open, Steve tensed, as if he expected the Soldier to lash out once again. “Easy, sunshine,” Stark said in a soothing voice, glancing up at Steve with a soft smile. The scent of hot metal rose into the air, and he looked at his arm in alarm. But it wasn’t the source -- Stark was. And it wasn’t an alpha scent either. 

“You’re an omega,” he breathed, the pieces suddenly falling into place. “You’re Steve's omega.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The former Soldier puts himself in Stark’s hands — literally and figuratively — while Steve stands by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Restoring the Shield - Chapter 2  
> Collaborator(s): PoliZ  
> Link:  
> STB Square Filled: O2 - Star Spangled Man with a Plan  
> Ship/Main Pairing: Stony, past Stucky, endgame Stuckony  
> Rating: Mature (may go Explicit)  
> Major Tags/Triggers/Warnings: a/b/o dynamics, semi-canon compliant, recovering!Bucky  
> Summary: The former Soldier puts himself in Stark’s hands — literally and figuratively; Steve stands by his side.  
> Word Count: 1135

“Yes,” Stark answered slowly, “I am an omega.” He paused for a beat, then briskly rubbed his hands together as if to dismiss the subject. “How about you show me where those ports are, Sarge?”

He suppressed a wince at the nickname; that wasn’t who he was anymore, either. Lifting his right hand to his left shoulder, he pressed on the edge of a plate, feeling the hidden catch let go as he slid it to one side. Two more plates flipped up and out of the way as he explained, “Here’s the main one. There’s another down by my wrist, but I think the problem’s in this area.” 

“Cap, can you hold this for me?” Stark handed Steve a slim flashlight and the two of them bent over his arm; their scents mingling in a way he found oddly alluring. “Huh - yeah, I think I see the problem.” 

Stark probed carefully around the wires and circuitry, nudging items back into place as he referenced the holographic screen and kept up a running commentary, with occasional requests of the mysterious Jarvis, who controlled the images. Steve watched intently, moving the flashlight as directed.

“Tony? Can we take the collar off Bucky now? He’s being awfully cooperative.” It was clear Steve wanted to tear it off himself, but was -- for once -- playing by the rules. 

“I suppose,” Stark answered. “It was mostly Rhodey’s idea, anyways. JARVIS, could you take care of that?” There was a click and the shock collar loosened, making him wonder further who — or what — Jarvis was. Steve quickly removed the with a distasteful expression; he half expected his friend to crush it to pieces. He slowly rolled his head around, feeling the pop and click of his vertebrae. 

One of the gadgets Stark had stashed away in his gauntlet appeared to be some futuristic sort of soldering iron, as he caught a whiff of burning plastic and hot metal that wasn’t Stark’s omega scent. He longed to ask questions about those tools, along with Stark’s armor, and Jarvis too; but even more, he wanted to know how Stark had accomplished everything he had while being an omega.

It was as if Stark could read his mind, as he said, “My status as an omega is something I’ve kept under wraps, for a lot of different reasons, as I’m sure you understand. But it’s been suggested to me that coming out publicly might help others and improve the situation overall for people like us.” So he knew at the very least that Bucky Barnes had been an omega as well. 

As for whose omega I am ...” Stark trailed off, and looked meaningfully at Steve.

“Buck, I’m so sorry.” His former alpha’s voice cracked with a heartbreaking apology. “I saw you fall and I thought you were...” 

“Dead.” He finished the statement. “So did I. I thought I was dead and in hell. But it wasn’t that simple.” He bent his head and used his free hand to pull his long, unkempt hair up off his neck, fingers trailing over the ugly, ridged scar that marked where they had cut out his bonding gland. 

“They took everything from me,” he stated, voice hoarse with emotion, “hollowed me out, gave me this goddamned arm and made me over into their greatest weapon. They told me I helped shape the century, and for once I guess they weren’t lying.”

He raised his eyes to look at Stark, who bore a remarkable resemblance to his father. “You must hate me.” He assumed Stark would know what he meant; after all, he was a genius. 

Stark met his gaze as if it were a challenge. “You know, it would be all too easy to do just that.” Eyes narrowing slightly, he continued. “If I’d gotten to you right after I found out that my parents’ death wasn’t an accident, well, I’d probably have done something that I’d eventually regret. I mean, I can understand why Howard was Hydra’s target, but,” Stark paused and swallowed hard, “you killed my mom.” 

There was nothing he could say in reply; no words of apology that could possibly make up for what he’d done, so he simply nodded an acknowledgement. 

“Tony,” Steve murmured, “It wasn’t his fault—“ 

“I know, but it doesn’t make it any easier.” Stark replied, cutting Steve’s attempt at justification off. He got to his feet, his face carefully blank as he flipped the access ports closed. “I think I’m done here.” He made a flicking gesture with his right hand toward the Iron Man armor; the gauntlet flew off his hand and returned to its proper position as Stark left the room, the door closing behind him. 

“Tony will come around,” Steve said, clearly attempting to reassure him. “Did his tinkering help, or make it worse?” 

“It helped, I think.” He extended his arm and rotated the wrist. The grinding was almost gone, and the pins and needles sensation was fading. “But he’s right. I’ve destroyed lives, murdered innocents. You all ought to shut me up in a cell and throw away the key.” 

“No!” Steve replied fiercely, his fists clenching. “I won’t let that happen. And neither will Tony.” He took a deep breath. “We found the vault in DC. Tore that goddamned chair apart, once we realized what it was.” 

“With your bare hands, punk?” The taunt felt familiar in his mouth, an term of endearment more than an insult; Steve’s reaction -- a mix of surprise and pleasure -- only seemed to bear that out. 

“I woulda tried, jerk,” Steve replied with a wry smile, “but the shield worked a lot better, especially after Tony gave it a few licks with his repulsors.” The smile disappeared, replaced by a look of grim determination. “I swear they’ll never have the chance to do that again. To you or to anyone else.” 

It was easy to believe Steve in that moment, to let the certainty of the man who was once his alpha wash over him. “So, what’s the plan?” 

“That kinda depends on you, Buck.” Steve looked at him speculatively. “How quickly did you get rid of those trackers?"

“Pretty damn quick, though my first few days after... you know ... are still pretty fuzzy.” 

“So, is it safe to say Hydra -- at least whatever’s left of them -- assumes the Winter Soldier went down with the helicarriers?” 

He shrugged. “There’s a good chance, yeah. You’re sure Pierce is dead?” 

“Fury shot that traitor through his rotten heart,” Steve spat out. “He was in the Triskelion when it fell.”

“Fury’s alive?” 

“It was a surprise to me too, Buck. Apparently he’s harder to kill than any of us thought.” And there was that wry grin again, which made him long for Steve’s sunrise smile. 

“Does Fury know Rhodes and Stark found me?” 

“No, and I want to keep it that way for as long as possible. The fewer people looking for the Soldier, the better.” 

“I can’t hide forever, Steve.” 

“I know.” Steve clasped his shoulder -- the real one -- and added. “How would you feel about being your own great-nephew?”


End file.
